Oluremi Tinubu urges South-West governors to replicate initiative as FG targets vulnerable children, pregnant and nursing mothers
ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE — The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has flagged off the South-West Zonal National Community Food Bank in Ogun State, charging governments across the region to replicate the initiative as part of concerted efforts to tackle food insecurity, malnutrition and vulnerability among Nigerians.
Senator Tinubu, who spoke on Tuesday at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, said the National Community Food Bank Programme was designed to provide sustained access to nutritious food for vulnerable Nigerians, particularly children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
She called on governors across the South-West to establish community food banks in their respective states in partnership with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), stressing that such collaboration would enhance the supply of food items while providing the operational support required to sustain the programme.
According to her, the initiative represents a deliberate and sustainable intervention aimed at addressing food insecurity and malnutrition among vulnerable households.
She explained that the programme specifically targets children under six years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers, with the ultimate objective of ensuring that every Nigerian child receives adequate nutrition and a healthy foundation for growth and development.
Senator Tinubu said the initiative was in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, particularly in the areas of food security, healthcare, social protection and human capital development.
‘Food Banks Must Serve the Vulnerable’
The First Lady further clarified the distinction between a food bank and a food hub, explaining that the food bank was established specifically to cater for disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society.
She stressed that services provided through the food banks would be free, adding that state governments were expected to take ownership of the facilities to ensure their sustainability beyond the initial Federal Government intervention.
She also advocated the location of food banks close to Primary Healthcare Centres, saying such proximity would make the facilities more accessible to vulnerable families and strengthen the ability of health workers to identify and support households at risk of malnutrition.
Senator Tinubu expressed optimism that the programme would be sustained and expanded, noting that the Federal Government’s vision went beyond establishing the initial food banks.
She commended Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for his commitment to improving the welfare and living conditions of residents, citing the newly commissioned Gateway Medical Centre of Excellence and the President Muhammadu Buhari Estate as examples of projects with direct impact on citizens.
Abiodun: Development Must Transform Lives
The chief host, Governor Dapo Abiodun, described the launch of the National Community Food Bank as evidence of the shared vision and common purpose between the Federal Government and Ogun State in building a more prosperous, inclusive and secure society.
Governor Abiodun said the President Muhammadu Buhari Estate and Gateway Medical Centre of Excellence were consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda, which he said must go beyond policy formulation to produce tangible improvements in the daily lives of citizens.
According to him, the agenda encompasses housing, healthcare, nutrition, social protection and human capital development.
He said his administration’s Building Our Future Together agenda was founded on the belief that government must create an environment where citizens could live with dignity, access essential services, pursue legitimate aspirations and look towards the future with confidence.
The governor maintained that economic development would lose its moral value if economic growth occurred while the basic needs of citizens remained unmet.
He noted that the true measure of governance was not merely the number of projects commissioned but the number of lives positively transformed through such projects.
“The hospitals become useful when they save lives; the houses fulfil their purpose when they shelter families,” Governor Abiodun said.
He also welcomed the plan to locate food banks within Primary Healthcare Centres, saying the arrangement would enable government to identify vulnerable households more effectively, support children at risk of malnutrition, assist pregnant women and nursing mothers, and ensure that interventions reached those who needed them most.
Food Bank Will Link Farmers to Consumers — Kyari
In his goodwill message, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the National Community Food Bank Programme would go beyond distributing food to vulnerable Nigerians by creating a sustainable connection between farmers and consumers.
He said the initiative demonstrated the Federal Government’s determination to address food insecurity while preserving the dignity of vulnerable families.
According to Kyari, food security is no longer being treated as a narrow sectoral issue under the present administration, recalling that President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency on food security and placed the issue at the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He explained that the Community Food Bank Programme was also designed to strengthen agricultural production through structured procurement and distribution systems.
“A food bank that hands out food solves a meal. A food bank tied to a farm solves a season,” the minister said.
Pate, Aina Seek Wider Participation
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, described the programme as a critical platform for tackling health challenges associated with food insecurity.
He urged governors across the South-West to key into the initiative and scale it up to ensure that vulnerable Nigerians, particularly children and women, did not go without adequate food.
In his technical presentation, the Executive Secretary of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Muyi Aina, said the agency would work with relevant stakeholders to strengthen food production and guarantee the availability of nutritious food for Nigerians.
Aina disclosed that the programme targets pregnant women and children between six months and six years of age, adding that it would be domiciled within the country’s 13,500 Primary Healthcare Centres.
He said integrating the food bank initiative with the primary healthcare system would improve identification of vulnerable families and strengthen the delivery of nutrition-related interventions.
Alake Commends First Lady
The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Michael Aremu Gbadebo, commended Senator Oluremi Tinubu for ensuring that Ogun State benefited from the initiative.
The monarch said the programme had the potential to provide significant succour to vulnerable members of society, particularly families struggling with food insecurity and malnutrition.
Three Major Projects Commissioned
The First Lady’s visit to Ogun State also featured the commissioning of the National Community Food Bank at Makun, Sagamu, as well as the President Muhammadu Buhari Estate and the Gateway Medical Centre of Excellence.
The commissioning of the facilities added a major development dimension to the visit, bringing together interventions in nutrition, housing and healthcare.
The events underscored the importance of coordinated social investment, with stakeholders emphasising that sustainable development must place the welfare, dignity and wellbeing of citizens at the centre of governance.
With the South-West zonal food bank now launched in Ogun, attention is expected to turn to the ability of states across the region to establish and sustain similar facilities, particularly through partnerships with primary healthcare institutions and local agricultural producers.
The initiative, stakeholders said, offers an opportunity to move beyond emergency food distribution towards a more integrated system in which nutrition, healthcare, agriculture and social protection work together to protect the most vulnerable members of society.
